Latest news with #Falcon50
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Government leaders face backlash after details of holiday trip emerge: 'And I'm sitting here drinking from a limp paper straw'
Three EU presidents hopped on a private jet for a journey that would've taken less than three hours in a car, sparking outrage among the public. According to Politico, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola took a jet from Brussels to Luxembourg and back to celebrate Schuman Day on May 9. The same trip would've taken about two-and-a-half hours in a car. Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho said the flights were "justified" and necessary "due to conflicting schedules." All three EU leaders have faced backlash over their private jet use before. Von der Leyen reportedly took 57 private flights in two years, and Costa was alleged to have used a Portuguese Air Force Falcon 50 jet for personal purposes, per Politico. On average, a private jet produces over 2,200 pounds of planet-warming emissions per hour. A standard SUV produces less than 60 pounds per hour (0.88 pounds per mile), depending on speed and distance. Based on estimates, the three presidents created more than 1,600 pounds of emissions. In a car, it would've been closer to 150 pounds. That's over 10 times more pollution for a single trip. People are not only angry about the disregard for the planet's health. The presidents' actions contradict their own goals of making transportation greener. The European Green Deal aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. If leaders continue to carelessly use private jets, that will be impossible. This was also not an international emergency. They flew because these leaders "wanted to celebrate Schuman Day together with Prime Minister Luc Frieden in Luxembourg," according to Pinho. Many people are furious about this hypocrisy and abuse of resources, feeling a mix of anger and hopelessness. "How much carbon footprint was abused???" someone wondered on Politico's Facebook post about the incident. Should the government be able to control how we heat our homes? Definitely Only if it saves money I'm not sure No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Another person highlighted the frustration of trying to live more sustainably while the upper class and world leaders waste more and more. "And I'm sitting here drinking from a limp paper straw," they wrote. "The Green Deal is definitely dead," someone else commented in disappointment. This situation is disheartening, but the Green Deal is not dead. Holding leaders accountable for planet-polluting actions and reminding them to follow their own policies is essential. Public pressure is the key to stopping people in power from abusing the planet. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Miami Herald
29-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
How did a Florida man afford 27 Ferraris and a yacht? A $22 million tax fraud
As some fully employed people found their Social Security contributions were '$0' for recent years, a Stuart man and his wife luxuriated in a 7,700-square-foot three-bedroom, eight-bathroom house with a small dock and cove. The missing money and the house connect through Matthew Brown and his $22.4 million tax fraud. Brown, 51, soon will be relocating from that home to federal prison after being sentenced in Fort Pierce federal court to 50 months of incarceration and two years of supervised release. He also was fined $200,000 and ordered to pay $22,401,585 in restitution. Brown pleaded guilty to failure to account for and pay over trust fund tax and assisting in the filing of a false tax return, crimes he committed through Matthew Brown & Associates, which did business as Elite Payroll Solutions. Elite Payroll handled payroll functions, employee benefits and tax services for several businesses from Miami-Dade to St. Lucie counties. Some of those functions included paying payroll taxes. How the tax fraud worked Starting in 2014, the Justice Department said, Brown worked a pretty simple tax scam on his business clients. He told them how much they owed in taxes, and they paid him the full amount. Then, he understated the employment tax obligation to the IRS. Brown kept the difference. Brown's admission of facts says he did this to a Miami private security company in the business quarter that ended June 30, 2021. He understated the security company's tax by $150,000 in a false quarterly filing to the IRS. He did this to several companies over eight years or 32 quarters. 'On multiple occasions, the IRS sent Brown and the EPS clients notices that it had detected underreporting for a specific quarter,' his admission said. 'Brown sent correspondence to the IRS and to the EPS Clients claiming any underreporting was the result of an Elite Payroll error and offered to pay any balance and interest due for that quarter. Brown knew this to be false and did so to avoid further scrutiny from the IRS and EPS clients.' Instead of paying the payroll taxes, Brown bought a home in 2016 for $1.2 million (current market value in county property records: $3.7 million), commercial properties, a Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht, a Falcon 50 jet, and a fleet of cars that included Porsches, Rolls-Royces, and 27 Ferraris. Here's a list of companies included in Brown's restitution and the unpaid employment taxes that went into his pocket: ▪ Miami's Gruber Saks Construction, $695,118. ▪ Davis Brothers, LLC, $2,113,984 ▪ Factory Direct Supply WPB, LLC, $1,992,692 ▪ Miami's Haynes Security Services, $1,509,015 ▪ Palm City's VM Iron Work and Structural Steel Corp., $648,811 And three companies partially-owned by Brown ▪ Palm City's Propane Services, Inc., $1,297,823 ▪ AC Care Heat and Air, Inc., $382,315 ▪ Matthew Brown & Associates, Inc., $13,761,827 An employee at one of Brown's companies sent a victim impact email to the court before Brown's sentencing: 'One day, a colleague urged me to check my Social Security records. To my shock, my SSA contributions for three years were listed as $0 — despite full-time employment. It took months of persistence during the COVID shutdown to have this corrected. Afterward, I encouraged others to review their records, and many found the same issue.' This was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Porter and Trial Attorney Andrew Ascencio.
